Man&#39;s-garter clasp.



No. 683,I9l. Patented Sept. 24, l90l.

P. B. TINGLEY. MAN'S GARTER CLASP.

(Application file'd Dec. 11, 1900.)

(No Model.)

INVENTOR.

S E S S E N H W 1w: mums mans Cd, worau'nm. wmlum'om o. c.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILO B. TINGLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MANS-GARTER CLASP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,191, dated September 24, 1901.

I Application filed December 11, 1900. Serial No. 39,471. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PHILO B. TINGLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, State of New York, have invented a new and useful Mans-Garter Clasp, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to the class of clasps used upon mens garters to connect the end of that portion of the elastic strip which passes aroundthe leg with the strip itself at some point above the attachment of the other end of the strip to the stocking; and my invention has for its object to provide a two-part clasp of this character which shall be easy to manipulate to fasten and unfasten, but the detachable member of which can only be disengaged from the other member by lifting said detachable member to a position perpendicular, or approximately so, to the other member, and each member of which may be stamped out and formed complete from a strip of sheet metal at a single operation, my novel clasp being thus made very much easier and cheaper to produce than other clasps of the class, as there is no independent stud to be formed and riveted to place and the clasp as a whole being flatter and less clumsy and in the way in use.

It is wholly immaterial so far as my present invention is concerned What device may be employed to attach the garter to the stocking. I preferably, however, use for this purpose the clasp which comprises the subject-matter of my Patent No. 642,174, dated January 30, 1900.

With the above ends in view I have devised the simple and novel clasp which I will now describe, referring to the accompanying draw ings, forming part of this specification, and

using reference characters to designate the several parts.

Figure 1 is a view showing my novel clasp in position on a garter, the members being clasped as in use; Fig. 2, a plan View showing the two members of the clasp detached from the textile strip and separated from each other; and Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1, the detaching position of the detachable member being indicated by dotted lines.

My novel clasp consists of two parts only, each member being stamped out and formed complete at a single operation from a strip of sheet metal, thus doing away with all addition al parts which would require to be formed and then attached in place and effecting an important saving in the cost of production. For convenience in description I have desigrespectively, member B being the one I have termed the detachable member. Member A is provided with the usual slots 10, arranged radially, through which the elastic strip 0 is drawn in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1, one side of the strip being stretched more than the other. The novel feature of member A is a rounded boss D, raised above the surface of the member and provided with a slot 12, lying at right angles to the line of approach of member 13 in the act of engaging the members. At the ends of this slot are recesses 13, which receive the engaging portion of member B when in the engaged position. These recesses may be formed partly on one side of the slot and partly on the other, as shown in Fig. 2, or preferably may be formed entirely on the side of the slot toward the line of approach of member B in the act of engaging, as in Figs. 1 and In practice the slot divides the boss into two portions, the portion toward the line of approach of member B forming a low flattened hook 14, which is adapted'to be engaged by the engaging portion of member B, and the other portion of the boss forming a guard 15, which prevents the members from becoming disengaged except when member B is properly manipulated, as will be more fully explained. Member B is provided with the usual slot 16, through which the elastic strip is passed in attaching it to place, and with an opening 17, which receives the hook 14 when the members are in the engaging position, the strip of metal outside of opening 17 forming a loop 18, which engages the flattened hook upon member A, as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 8.

The operation of engaging and disengaging the members will be readily understood from the drawings. It will be obvious that the members can be engaged or disengaged only when member B is held in a position vertical, or approximately so,to member A, with the loop downward. When the members are in this position,the loop on memberB may be readily passed into the slot, and the instant nated the members by the letters A and B, a

the strip is released the elasticity of the strip, or it the strip is an ordinary textile strip the tension upon it,will draw member B down to the horizontal position, leaving the members engaged, as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. To disengage the members, the operator slips a finger under the strip and swings or raises member B to a position vertical, or approximately so, to member A, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, in which position the loop may be readily removed from the slot. It Will be obvious, however, that when the members are engaged the loop will lie partly in the recesses and will be locked thereby in connection with the guard against disengagement from the hook.

It will be noticed that the rigid bar or loop 18 differs in shape from that of the slot in the boss when the two are in the same plane or parallel, as viewed in either Fig. 1 or Fig. 2. Said bar or loop 18 is curved, while the slot across the boss is substantially straight. This difference in shape prevents disengagement of the members when in the position shown in Fig. 1, the bar or loop being retained in the slot when lying therein in a plane parallel with the plane of the boss member.

The length of the opening 17 in the bar member B is such as to enable the member B to swing or oscillate laterally to some extent relatively to the member A, whereby when the members of the clasp are connected, as shown in Fig. 1, and the garter is being worn the two members A and B may assume a proper relative position, according to the line of draft of the web or strip 0, Without binding the members or tending to tilt the member B upward and out of the slot of the member A.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- A clasp of the character described, comprising a member having a raised boss with a substantially straight slot across it at right angles to the line of approach of the other member and recesses at the end of the slot, a cooperating member having an elongated opening, one side of said opening being bounded by a curved rigid bar or loop whereby said bar or loop will be retained in the slot when lying therein in a plane parallel with the plane of the boss member, thelength of the opening in the bar member being such that said bar member may oscillate or swing relatively to the boss member.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PHILO B. TINGLEY.

\Vitn esses:

WALER JONES, AUGUSTA BURNS. 

